as in skinny
very thin in a way that is not attractive or healthy
He changed from a scrawny kid to a brawny teen in just over a year. The only plants in their yard were a couple of scrawny bushes.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scrawny
The casting notices are for a mother, an old woman, a scrawny old man and a 9-year-old girl.
—
Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Dec. 2025
Where Aytaç was large but poised, Abdi was insubstantial, scrawny, and unsteady on his feet.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The scrawny stray Marlon Brando stroked in The Godfather was found on the Paramount lot the morning of the shoot.
—Steve Garbarino, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
The woman’s husband, a scrawny man in a shabby work uniform, smelling of sewage, drooped behind the gurney.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrawny
Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Dec. 2025
Where Aytaç was large but poised, Abdi was insubstantial, scrawny, and unsteady on his feet.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The scrawny stray Marlon Brando stroked in The Godfather was found on the Paramount lot the morning of the shoot.
—Steve Garbarino, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
The woman’s husband, a scrawny man in a shabby work uniform, smelling of sewage, drooped behind the gurney.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrawny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrawny
Adjective
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Kyle is freaking out about Amanda getting in the pool naked, even though there is a long history of them skinny-dipping as a house.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
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The black satin platform booties, which retail for $2,195, featured a bold square toe box, a corset-esque lace-up detail in front, and a skinny over six-inch stiletto.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Without reliably cold temperatures, snow is wetter and thinner, conditions are rainier — and for athletes that can be dangerous.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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And the attorneys who are assigned are often spread thin and unable to provide quality representation, let alone peer support.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
These ingredients were ground and washed by hand, stored in ornate vessels and applied with slender sticks—often as part of an intimate, almost ceremonial process passed down through generations of women.—
Amelia Dhuga,
Vogue,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Korinek is youthful and slender, with delicate wire-frame glasses and a faintly red beard.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrawny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrawny. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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